By Robert Nott, Santa Fe New Mexican |
February 18, 2021
Laura Paskus
As retired Judge Sandra Price watched the state House of Representatives debate a bill that would allow people to sue government agencies over civil rights violations, one particular moment grabbed her attention.
It was when Rep. Ryan Lane, R-Aztec, rose to ask the bill’s sponsors House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, and Rep. Georgene Louis, D-Albuquerque to accept a substitute bill.
The amended legislation would have required any lawmakers who work as attorneys to agree not to represent clients in complaints that might fall under the proposed New Mexico Civil Rights Act.
COVID-19 by the numbers New Mexico health officials yesterday reported 281 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total so far to 181,332. The health department has designated 125,064 of those cases as recovered. Bernalillo County had 120 new cases, followed by Doña Ana County with 49 and San Juan County with 22. Santa Fe County had 10 new cases. The state also announced 12 additional deaths; there have now been 3,562 fatalities statewide. As of yesterday, 280 people were hospitalized with COVID-19. As New Mexico approaches the one-year mark for the state s first cases, SFR spoke with Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase about the last 12 months of the pandemic and how the state has fared. When we look at the pandemic, we think of the number of cases and hospitalizations and all that, Scrase says, but I think mainly of the fact that people in high-income census tracts had one quarter the chance of getting COVID as people in low-income census tracts.
On Tuesday, the New Mexico House passed a bill that would create a process to sue in state court when police use excessive force or take other actions that violate individual rights without the possibility of “qualified immunity” as a defense
New Mexico Civil Rights Act passes House, moves on to the Senate
SANTA FE – The New Mexico Civil Rights Act (HB 4), a bill that divided the state s Civil Rights Commission over the issue of qualified immunity, passed the state House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon and will move on to consideration in the Senate.
HB 4 would allow individuals to sue state and local government entities, including law enforcement agencies and educational institutions for deprivations of civil rights under the state Constitution in state district courts rather than federal courts.
It requires public entities to indemnify employees for monetary damages awarded in such lawsuits when brought against individuals, leaving agencies on the hook if a law enforcement officer or other government agent is found to have violated a plaintiff s civil rights.